Key course change at Augusta National for 2024 means incredible Masters moment may never be replicated

Of all the famous holes at Augusta National, few draw as much cheer as Pink Dogwood.

The downhill par 5 gives players the perfect opportunity to go under par early on in the Masters and consistently proves to be one of, if not the easiest, holes on the prestigious course.

Augusta’s hallowed Amen Corner gets the spotlight every year, and rightly so.

But Pink Dogwood will once again litter the late-day highlights this week as a bird-eyed field or better.

In the latest change at Augusta, course bosses decided to extend the par 5 tee box and extend the hole to an impressive 585 yards.

As players hit longer and longer, Augusta bosses wanted to provide more challenges and increasing the second has been a priority for 2024.

Despite its length – now the longest hole on the property – a par on Pink Dogwood will always be disappointing and yield plenty of birdies.

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We’ll probably even see quite a few eagles, like Dustin Johnson who recorded two big pigeons during his 2020 triumph.

But a score may be out of reach now, even for the sport’s best: the ever-elusive albatross.

Arguably tougher than a famous hole-in-one, an albatross requires not one but two perfectly struck shots, and then it’s a fair share of luck to find the bottom of the cup.

In 87 years of the Masters, we have seen 34 aces and only four albatrosses!

One of them came from the talented hands of South African Louis Oosthuizen, as the 2010 Open champion hit one of the greatest shots of the 2012 Masters.

A perfect descent of the hill left Oosthuizen with 253 meters to go. He pulled out the 4 iron, hit his second to the front left edge of the green and let gravity take over.

The ball caught one of Augusta’s famous undulations, picked up speed and spread to the traditional Sunday position as the surrounding crowd reached fever pitch at the start of the final day.

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Once he finally fell, Oosthuizen raised his hands in jubilation as he launched himself into title contention with his rapid-fire double eagle.

Oosthuizen would match Bubba Watson’s final score and force a play-off.

From there, even more drama ensued as Watson provided another century-old Masters highlight.

After running miles on the 10th to start the playoffs, he found himself in an impossible position among the pine straw.

At 164 yards, he hit the gap wedge and hooked his effort at 90 degrees to find the putting surface.

With Oosthuizen also struggling and unable to make par, Watson two-putted to win it and duly obliged, winning his first green jacket.

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Oosthuizen must have regretted what might have been, but his albatross on the second will be remembered as long as Watson’s exploits.

The 41-year-old said: “It was the most memorable shot of my career.

“It was my first ever double eagle and to do it in a place like Augusta is special. The roar of the crowd was a great feeling.

“Bubba said later he wanted to run up to me and say hello. I wish he had, it would have been fun.

This year, Pink Dogwood will prove to be a tougher beast than in previous tournaments.

But such is the talent on display that, who knows, maybe the rarest birds will fly to Georgia again.

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Masters betting odds:

Scottie Scheffler – 4/1

Rory McIlroy – 11/1

Jon Rahm – 12/1

Xander Schauffele – 18/1

Brooks Koepka – 20/1

Hideki Matsuyama – 20/1

Jordan Speith – 22/1

Ludvig Aberg – 28/1

Joaquín Neimann – 28/1

Wyndham Clark – 28/1

Bar – 30/1

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